Water butt.



W. C. CORYELL.

WATER BUTT.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

Fuel

WILLIAM C. CORYELL, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

WATER BUTT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

Application filed June 29, 1918. Serial No. 242,690.

To (ill whom it may concem Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. CoRYELL, acitizen of the United States, residing at lVashington, in the Districtof Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WaterButts,'of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to butts for use in artillery and smallarms testing. Heretofore it has been customary when testing guns,shells, fuses and explosives to fire the shells into the open field,into the open water, or into banks of sand called sand butts. The latterare used where the shell .or bullet is to be examined. For this purposethe shell which enters the sand must be dug out. This digging may bedone by hand, by steam shovels, or by grab buckets, but in any event itis a slow and laborious undertaking. The principal object of the presentinvention is to produce a butt in which the projectile will pass into abody of water in which its energy will be readily absorbed and fromwhich it may be readily removed for examination. The invention alsocontemplates the employment of protective works before the water butt toprotect the same against misdirected shots. These works absorb all theenergy of such projectiles as may hit them and so protect the waterbutt. An opening through the protective works allows such projectiles topass through as are in line to enter the water butt. The entrance of aprojectile into the water of the water butt is through a target ofpenetrable material located in one of the 'walls of the water inclosureof the butt. Likewise, approach to the target can be had only throughthe opening in the protective works.

One advantage of my invention over the I sand butt is that it permits ofmore rapid a large amount of explosives are being tested; and will helpin other ways, to say nothing of the economy financially.

The various features and aspects of the invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing and the scope of the invention will bepointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing, Figure I is aplan view of a water buttconstructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 11 is acentral vertical longitudinal section of the same showing certain partsin full; Fig. III is a transverse section taken on a plane indicated bythe line 33 of Fig. II; and FigJIV is a diagram indicating the relativepositions of a gun, the water butt and the protective works before thelatter, 1n thls case a sand butt. Throughout these views like charactersrefer to like parts.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A designates an inclosure for thewater of the water butt, B the target or battle which closes an openingin one of the walls of the inclosure, C gates for closing the opening inthe Wall when it is desired to replace or repair the bafiie B, D thehinges for the gates C, and E the thimble or rim located in-the openingof the wall, to which thimble the baffle B is secured. The inclosure Ais preferably composed of concrete, but -may be built of steel, wood orany other suitable construction material. sired dimensions, but shouldbe of sufficientlength to allow the water contained in it to fully takeup the energy of the projectile before the projectile reaches thedistant end, and of suflicient depth to prevent ricochett-ing.Preferably the cross-section is V- shaped so as to cause the projectilesto settle down into a definite channel at the bottom of the inclosure.WVith such a section, the projectiles can always be readilydocated andwithdrawn from the receptacle. This recovery of the projectile can bemade either .by draining the butt, or by a diver who will aiiiX alifting tackle to the projectile, or by lifting magnets. Of course anysuitable means may be employed for this purpose. The shape of the wallsof the inclosure A,

may be, of'course, varied as desired. In the present instance the lowerwall or base is thickened at its center as indicated by the It may alsobe of any dedotted lines in Figsl II and III and the rear and side wallsinclined on their inner faces as shown in Figs. II and III. The targetor bafiie B is secured in any desired way to the front edge of thethimble or ringE which in turn is positioned in a hole in the front wallof the inclosure A. The target B must be removabl secured in order thatit may be replaced y other targets when destroyed. The gates C aremounted on the vertical hinges D and when in closed position meet attheir outer edges and thus form a substantially water-tight stop for theopenin through the ring E. The gates are made substantial and rest whenopen against recesses in the wall so as to withstand theshock due to theshell passing. In practice these gates stand in open position asindicated in "Fig. I and the projectile is fired through the target Binto the water contained in the receptacle A. The target should consistof some easily penetrable material and preferably consists of thin sheetmetal or Wood or other like material. The passing of the projectilethrough the plate B will leavea hole through which the water containedin the inclosure will flow. ()rdinarily this opening can be closed bymeans of a wooden plug. As the shell enters the inclosure it will meetwith resistance in ap proximate proportion to the density of the wateras against the density of sand or earth works. In other words, the bodyof water within the inclosure will quickly stop a projectile fired atordinary velocities. In operation the ates C will be put in the openposition, ba e B will be attached and the inclosure A filled with water.When this is done the apparatus is ready for firing. The water beingrelatively solid will otter such resistance to the plate B that theplate will be readily supported and penetrated by the projectile firedagainst it. As the latter enters the water it will meet with such aresistance as to be quickly stopped within the inclosure A. The waterwhich streams out through the opening in the plate B made by theprojectile will then be stopped by a suitable plug either with orwithout closing the gates C as may be found best. Whenever desired, theprojectile may be removed from the inclosure A and subjected toexamination.

Means of filling and draining the butt is not essential for theillustration of this invention. Neither is the means of filling oremptying the space between the target and the gates, nor is the means ofopening and closing the gates essential to the specification of thisinvention.

()rdina-rily the area of the late B which constitutes the target bearssuch relation to the gun and the distance of the latter from the targetthat the projectile fired will hit the target and not hit the front wallof the inclosure A. In order, however, to protect the inclosure A fromshots that may be fired when the gun is not accurately positioned, Iprovide protective works which may consist of a bank of sand or earth,through which I provide an.opening in line with the gun muzzle and thetarget. This arrangement is illustrated particularly in Fig. IV, whereinG designates the gun and F the protective works in the form of a sandbutt having the opening H through it in line with the gun G and thetarget B of the inclosure A of the water butt. In case of a misplacedshot the earth or sand F of the sand butt will take up the energy of theprojectile and stop it before it can reach the front wall of theinclosure A. A properly fired shot, however, will pass through theopening H and penetrate the target B and finally have its energyabsorbed by the water contained in the inclosure A.

It will be seen that in the structure herein disclosed 'the plate B issubjected on the one side to atmospheric pressure and on the other sideto hydrostatic pressure, the latter being due to the column of waterhaving the mean distance measured from the center of the plate B to thesurface of the water. This column should be of sufiicient height to stopthe projectile in case it tends to ricochet or curve upwardly in thewater, before it can pass out of the water. It may be here pointed outthat the gates C may be made of steel plate, wood or any other suitablematerial and that they may be differently mounted than upon the hingesD. Likewise the portion of the front wall which forms the target B mightbe variously constructed, the requisite being that it should be apenetrable area and one which is subjected to atmospheric pressure onone side and hydrostatic pressure on the other. It will be apparent thatmany changes might be made in the structure herein disclosed withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A butt, comprising an inclos11refor water into which the projectileis to pass and a target through which said projectile must ass to entersaid inclosure.

2. butt, comprising an inclosure for water into which the projectile isto be fired. and a target forming a portion of one of thewater-inclosing walls of said inclosure.

3. A butt, comprising an inclosure for water into which the projectileis to be fired, and a target of penetrable material open to theatmosphere on one side and subject to the pressure of the water withinsaid inclosure on the other side.

4. A butt, comprising an inclosure for water, one of the walls of saidinclosure having a limited area to serve as a target, one

side of said area being subject to atmospheric pressure and the otherside to the pressure of the water contained in said inclosure.

5. In a water butt, the combination of a wall having a target opening, adiaphragm of penetrable material closing said opening and serving as atarget, and movable gates for closing said opening to retain the waterin the butt While said diaphragm is being replaced or repaired.

6. The combmation with a water butt having an inclosure for water and atarget through which the projectile must pass to reach the water in saidinclosure, of protective works before said water butt, having a mass ofmaterial to take up the energy of a projectile forced into it, saidworks having an opening therethrough in line with said target throughwhich opening said projectile must pass in order to reach said target.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 28th day ofJune, 1918, A. D.

WILLIAM G. CORYELL.

